Funds raised by Ron DeSantis surpass Barbie movie's opening day at box office | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: 'Barbie' earned more money in one day than Ron DeSantis has ever fundraised

A July 25 (direct link, archive link) Facebook post shows a screenshot of a Threads post that features a photo of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis beside one of actress Margot Robbie in the movie "Barbie."

"Barbie raised more at (sic) box office in one day than Ron DeSantis fundraised his entire life," reads text within the post.

The Facebook post garnered more than 4,000 shares in two days, while the original Threads post received more than 1,000 likes in a day. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Our rating: False

Though the movie had a record-breaking opening day, the Florida governor and his political action groups have raised more money throughout his political career.

DeSantis campaign earned more money than 'Barbie'

"Barbie" broke several records throughout its opening week, earning the title for the biggest opening day and weekend of 2023.

The movie grossed $22.2 million in preview ticket sales on July 20 and $48.2 million the following day when the movie was officially released, totaling more than $70 million within its first 24 hours, according to Variety.

This record-breaking amount doesn't quite surpass DeSantis' lifetime fundraising total, however.

FollowTheMoney.org, a website run by the nonpartisan nonprofit National Institute on Money in Politics, tracks political campaign contributions.

The website reports that throughout his five races for public office, from 2012 to 2022, DeSantis raised nearly $278 million.

Fact check: No, Barbie's map doesn't include Greater Albania

The majority of this money was collected during his 2022 reelection campaign for Florida governor, according to a similar political finance tracking group called OpenSecrets. During this 2022 bid, DeSantis raised more than $217 million, most of which was collected by his state-level PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis.

In the first six weeks of his 2024 presidential run, the governor raised $20 million, while a supporting super PAC named Never Back Down raked in an additional $130 million since its March launch, The New York Times reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the users who shared the posts for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Post falsely compares 'Barbie' haul to DeSantis funds | Fact check